Fire crews tackle entire 45-foot lorry on fire after earlier diesel spill on A13 by Upminster, causing M25 chaos June 22, 2015 A lorry filled with cheese was engulfed in fire, causing travel chaos on the M25 today, 12 hours after the driver crashed into a bridge barrier. The fire spread through the whole of the 45-foot lorry, London Fire Brigade said. The smoke was so bad the roads were closed at junctions 29 and 30 [...]
European stocks soar as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says proposals “good basis for progress” June 22, 2015 European stock markets had a strong start to the week, as renewed optimism about a deal between Greece and its lenders boosted indices. The Cac and the Dax were both up 3.1 per cent at pixel time, while the FTSE 100 was up 1.4 per cent. Stocks in Athens were up more than eight [...]
Thorntons share price soars 43 per cent after Ferrero spoils it in £112m takeover deal June 22, 2015 Thorntons shareholders clearly think Ferrero is spoiling them – the British chocolate business' share price has soared more than 43 per cent this morning on the back of a £112m deal. Ferrero's parent company Ferholding has confirmed it has bought 29.9 per cent of the troubled chocolatier for 145p per share – a 43 [...]
Taylor Swift 1; Apple 0: Tech giant backs down over payment policy after Shake It Off singer threatens to block album June 22, 2015 Apple Music has backed down on its payment policy a day after singer Taylor Swift said she would refuse to let the tech giant stream her album 1989. The Shake It Off singer had written an open letter to the company saying she would withhold her record in light of plans to offer a [...]
Afren seeks investor support for refinancing agreement through new microsite as share price stagnates June 22, 2015 Troubled oil firm Afren has set up a microsite to gain support from shareholders for its controversial refinancing of its debt in March. The site features videos with management, the refinancing prospectus, FAQs and other material related to the vote. The Nigeria-focused business agreed a $300m debt-for-equity deal after defaulting on its $15m [...]
London Octopus scrapped as Galliard Homes buys site outright for £15m June 22, 2015 Controversial plans to build a 50-metre high office complete with billboards have fallen through, as a developer has bought out the site with plans to create a residential tower. The so-called London Octopus, which critics claimed would have turned Chiswick into the next Piccadilly Circus, have gone out of the window after Galliard Homes [...]
End Austerity Now: Here is who’ll be at the protest June 19, 2015 Protesters are coming from far and wide in a show of strength against the government's austerity measures on Saturday (June 20), in what is expected to be one of the largest rallies in recent history. Coaches have been put on to bring people from around the country, and organisers saying there could be hundreds of [...]
Liberty concession fined for selling big cat claw jewellery June 19, 2015 A concession at luxury department store Liberty has been fined for selling jewellery made from big cat claws. Annina Vogel was today ordered to pay £2,000 in fines, after having plead guilty to selling the illegal items. The company was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim’s surcharge of £120. Police [...]
From anti-austerity protests to remote-controlled cars: Here’s what got us talking this week June 19, 2015 There was plenty of Greek drama. RBS had to call in the boys from the IT Crowd. And some guy got a new job talking about cars. Here's what got us talking this week 1) There's going to be a huge protest in London today There will be tens of thousands of [...]
Ninth man sentenced for “subtle and cruel” £4.3m fraud investigated under Operation Cotton June 19, 2015 A ninth man has been sentenced for his role in a multi-million pound fraud. Adam Hawkins has been given six years and nine months for his involvement in running an unathourised fund at companies called variously Plott UK, European Property Investments and Stirling Alexander. The men were found to have conned £4,3m out of [...]